Wind was a big factor this yearīrian Potter, a research meteorologist with the station, studies wind events that can drive fire behavior in southwest Oregon. While the probability of wildfires on the west side is still lower than on the east side of the Cascade Range, wildfire risk and the magnitude of consequences of a very large fire event are high, as 2020 tragically showed, especially in areas with wildland-urban interface. However, over the past two decades, the length of fire seasons has increased, and warm dry conditions have become more common in Pacific Northwest forests. Long-held perceptions that rainy, west-side landscapes were immune to wildfire were beginning to wear thin. Historically, fires were rare in these lush forests on the west side of the Cascade Range. Although fires did happen, conditions had to be exactly right for them to start when they did, they tended to be large and stand replacing. The West-Side Fire Research Initiative arose in 2018 out of growing concern for exactly the scenario that came to reality in 2020. The initiative is dedicated to understanding wildfire behavior in the western parts of Oregon and Washington, and how it differs from more familiar wildfire behavior in the closely studied, disturbance-prone eastern portions of these states. The station had shown remarkable foresight several years earlier by launching the West-Side Fire Research Initiative. Was this just another fluke in a year that seemed to bring a conveyor belt of bad news? Or do Pacific Northwest residents need to adjust to a “new normal” for wildfires and the resulting poor air quality from smoke? What happened?Ī helicopter drops water on the Lionshead Fire in Oregon, September 2020. Some had to evacuate, some prepared to evacuate, and some got to work almost immediately to begin studying the causes and effects of these devastating fires. Like millions of other residents in the region, station employees were glued to the news as numerous fires encroached on nearby communities. Some coalesced into record-breaking megafires, burning millions of acres and spurring widespread evacuations from suburbs that were taken by surprise. Numerous wildfires that had started in August across California, Oregon, and Washington exploded when fanned by the gusty winds. Hot, dry, easterly winds reached hurricane levels. 7) 2020 brought with it a storm that knocked out power to more than 100,000 people in the Pacific Northwest.

Pacific northwest fires